We see so many of the “usual suspects” that I sometimes forget to mention the dozens of other animals we see on a very regular basis. One of those are hippos, which, for a reason or another, never rank too highly on our guests’ list, but once they see them, they often find them to be one of the most interesting animals they see.

Here a photo that Uyai took yesterday.

And here a spectacular photo that a guest sent in last week. Two hippos fighting!

Speaking of which, hippos: not many know that hippos are the deadliest animals in Africa (with the exception of the mosquito that kills indirectly a heck of a lot more because of malaria), more so than lions, and even crocodiles. The reason why locals are so aware of their dangerous nature is because the human bodies are usually found, as hippos are herbivores, so they kill, leave the carcass and move on. Crocodiles, of course, eat the entire body, so they are more often than not, never recovered. So it is not very clear how many people are killed by crocs, but in the case of hippos, it is a fairly well known quantity. The last number I heard was that about 300 humans are killed each year by hippos, so beware! They are very unpredictable, and despite their plump appearance, they easily outrun humans, running at speeds of 30 km/h, so don’t be fooled.

They stay in the water all day long, as their skin is sensitive to sun exposure. At night time, they go on land and feed there, usually for about 5 hours, and they can eat up to 65-70kg of grass in one night.

Many seem to believe that they are related to pigs/warthogs because of their look, but that’s not the case at all. They share a common ancestor with … whales! It is believed that about 54 million years ago they diverged, with whales adapting to sea life only, and hippos being descendants of a branch that adapted to land life only. Incredible, but true.

Interesting also: In German hippos are called “Nilpferde”, meaning “Nile horses”, and indeed many hundreds of year ago, they were very prominent along the Nile, in Egypt. But they are extinct in that part of the world now, due to human territory encroaching.

Our many lakes are perfect for hippos, and you will definitely see them when on visit here. They are well worth it. They are the third largest mammals on land, after elephants and the rhino. In other words, when you visit here, you will be able to see all three largest mammals roaming the earth, in one go. Not bad.